LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Farmers’ Wing on Monday warned that Punjab’s wheat crisis was deepening rapidly, claiming the growers are being forced to sell their yield at rates far below their production cost, while the government’s wheat policy had “completely failed,” pushing farmers further towards financial ruin.

Addressing a press conference here, the PTI farmers’ wing president, retired Maj Ghulam Sarwar and secretary general Mian Ejaz Shafi said that wheat growers suffered massive losses after being compelled to sell their yield at around Rs3,500 per maund, despite incurring a production cost of nearly Rs4,000 per maund.

They said the wheat guarantees food security across the world and recalled that the Punjab chief minister had promised last year that the government would purchase “every grain” from farmers. However, they alleged that the growers were abandoned and left at the mercy of private buyers.

Terming the government’s wheat policy a failure, they alleged that most private companies involved in the procurement process had not purchased wheat actively.

According to Shafi, nine out of eleven buying companies failed to purchase the commodity despite accumulating stocks. He claimed the companies had stored up to one million tonnes against a stock target of two million tonnes, while directly purchasing only around 100,000 tonnes from farmers.

He criticised the deregulation of the wheat sector, saying the government could not justify interference after handing procurement over to private players. He further alleged that police are conducting raids on farmers’ residences to recover wheat stocks.

The PTI leader claimed that the wheat production this year had declined by 12 per cent, compared to last year’s and warned that the government might have to import substandard wheat from abroad, eventually.

He said farmers are being sacrificed merely to keep the flour and bread prices artificially low.

He also linked the rising agricultural distress to increasing input costs, saying DAP fertilizer prices had reached Rs15,000 per bag, while urea prices had climbed close to Rs5,000.

He alleged that diesel prices had been raised to record levels under the pretext of regional conflict despite no similar increases in the countries directly affected by the Iran war.

Predicting a sharp rise in the wheat prices, Mr Shafi warned the commodity could reach Rs6,000 per maund within the next two months due to the flawed policies and declining output.

Turning to the wider agricultural economy, he claimed cotton production had fallen by 51pc, severely hurting Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings.

He criticised the absence of meaningful local seed research, despite Pakistan being an agricultural country. He alleged that agricultural exports had declined by 32pc over the past three years.

Shafi also accused the government of imposing an unfair tax burden on the public, saying both luxury vehicle owners and motorcycle riders were paying the same petroleum levy. He claimed Rs140 per litre was being collected in levies on petrol.

Criticising the government’s economic management, he said inflation had made it difficult for people to afford even one meal a day or sacrificial animals ahead of Eidul Azha. He maintained that economic stability could only come through political stability.

The farmers’ wing leaders further criticised the Punjab Assembly for not debating on the wheat policy during its recent 15-day session and challenged the government to conduct audits of current development projects that were completed during the PTI era to assess transparency and quality.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2026